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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27026035">Meeting the Parents</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/onward_came_the_meteors/pseuds/onward_came_the_meteors'>onward_came_the_meteors</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>October 2020 Prompts [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Asgard (Marvel), Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, POV Third Person, Post-Avengers (2012), Pre-Thor: The Dark World, and of course loki still plotting in the background, thor and bruce being the original cute couple</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:54:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,626</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27026035</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/onward_came_the_meteors/pseuds/onward_came_the_meteors</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“So.” Bruce said, because he still wasn’t entirely sure his brain was working. “Wait. You want me to…” He trailed off and stared at his hands against the table.</p>
<p>Thor gave him a puzzled look. “Maybe this might seem strange to you, but on Asgard, when two people have been courting each other, it is customary for them to meet each other’s relatives.”</p>
<p>“No, we do that on Earth too,” Bruce said quickly. “I just… Thor, your parents live in outer space.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bruce Banner/Thor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>October 2020 Prompts [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947679</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>105</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Meeting the Parents</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Day 15, for the prompt "possession"</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce Banner had expected a lot of things when he’d joined the Avengers. Most of them, unfortunately, had come true: the destruction of quite a lot of public property, the cage on the helicarrier, a significant lack of team cohesion (at least at first), and of course the constant mortal peril. The world ending in a blaze of fiery doom hadn’t happened yet, but Bruce wasn’t taking it off the list.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One thing he hadn’t expected, though—back when Natasha had first led him out onto the deck of the helicarrier and it had lifted into the sky—was that hardly a year later, he would be dating the god of thunder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It still made him smile to think about how it had happened—all the ways it had happened. After shawarma, when Thor had slung an arm around him and started off on how bravely Bruce’s other self had fought, and Bruce couldn’t make himself focus on the words because his brain was short-circuiting. When Tony’s invitation to stay at the Tower had turned out to be an open one, and Bruce found himself sharing looks with Thor across the kitchen table as the rest of the team got into their antics. When the last empty seat on the quinjet just happened to be the one right next to him and there really wasn’t any time to waste because there was important Avengers business to take care of. When Bruce had opened his eyes after shrinking back from the Hulk to see Thor’s concerned face bent over him, and being so dazed that he leaned up and kissed him; only realizing what he’d done when Thor’s eyes went wide; and Bruce had panicked for a moment before Thor reciprocated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last few months had been the best of his life (which admittedly was a pretty low bar, but hey) and Thor had made it clear (with those sunshine smiles that could light up the whole room) that he felt the same way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And now, Thor seemed to have a next step in mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, what?” Bruce set down his mug and turned to look at Thor, who was leaning against the refrigerator with his hair still messed up from sleeping on it. He couldn’t have heard him right—maybe they’d gone to bed later than he’d thought last night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor repeated himself. “I said I want you to meet my parents—I was thinking about it last night, and, well, it might be safe to say that this…” He gestured between them. “What we have is becoming pretty significant.” He smiled a little after that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, apparently Bruce had heard him right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So.” Bruce said, because he still wasn’t entirely sure his brain was working. “Wait. You want me to…” He trailed off and stared at his hands against the table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor gave him a puzzled look. “Maybe this might seem strange to you, but on Asgard, when two people have been courting each other, it is customary for them to meet each other’s relatives.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, we do that on Earth too,” Bruce said quickly. “I just… Thor, your parents live in outer space.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. That’s where I live too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You want to bring me to space.” Bruce stood up, pushing his chair back and tilting his head up at Thor. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Space.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And the last place I took you was that Italian place a couple blocks away from the park.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, that was very enjoyable,” Thor protested. His expression turned serious and he braced his hand at the top of the fridge. “Really, though, if you don’t want to, I won’t—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thor?” Bruce interrupted. Thor immediately met his eyes and Bruce felt himself break into a grin as he shook his head in disbelief. “Thor. You’re taking me to </span>
  <em>
    <span>space</span>
  </em>
  <span>, how in the world would you think I’d possibly want to say no to that?” Already his brain was exploding with the travel logistics and the biological effects of </span>
  <em>
    <span>being on another planet</span>
  </em>
  <span> and would this be dictated by actual astronomical science or the Mjolnir-can-only-be-lifted-by-the-worthy science? Did Asgard have the same center of gravity as Earth, the same oxygen levels? Would the days and nights be dictated by the same sun?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He leaned up to kiss Thor, who gave what almost sounded like a sigh of relief. He pulled back and grinned up at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“By the way, did you just use the word ‘courting?’”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor lifted his head to stare with interest at the ceiling. “Perhaps.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re adorable.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few days had passed, during which Thor somehow notified his family that they would be coming (when Bruce had asked him how they could possibly be in contact, he’d just waved his hand and muttered something about ravens), Bruce stared at his closet and wondered what he was even supposed to pack for a trip to the realm of Norse god space warriors, and the rest of the team had very interesting reactions to the news (Steve had almost spilled his coffee and muttered something about having a safe trip, Natasha had wished them luck even as she was clearly trying not to laugh, Clint just said “Cool” and went back to poking at something on his phone, and Tony had bombarded them with so many questions that neither Bruce or Thor could get a word in until he’d paused for breath), before they were finally ready to go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce stepped out onto the balcony, the city skyline—including the large red shape of the Avengers “A”—looming out in front of him. Thor was already there, standing a little ways to the side with the wind blowing his hair around his face. And he was back in his armor, which raised some questions about what meaning “casual wear” held for Asgardians.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He waved Bruce over and squinted up at the sky, which was a clear and unclouded blue. “Should only be a minute or so—Heimdall never runs late.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All right.” Bruce followed his gaze upward, even though he knew that there wouldn’t be any sign of the rainbow bridge until it was already blazing down around them. “Last chance for you to change your mind?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, at this point it would just be rude.” Thor watched the sky for another second before turning his gaze down to Bruce. “Here it comes now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The circle of sky above them suddenly seemed to crack, and rays of multicolored light burst forth from the jagged rip. The light streamed down around them, etching runes into the roof beneath their feet (</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tony’s gonna love that</span>
  </em>
  <span>) and surrounding both of them in a cocoon of rainbow radiance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This isn’t gonna disassemble my molecules and send them flying out into the void, right?” Bruce asked, instinctively stepping closer to Thor and squinting as the fierce wind blew against them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor did not answer, which was less reassuring than he would’ve hoped, but a half second later Thor’s arm wrapped around Bruce’s chest, and he opened his eyes again just in time to see Thor thrust his hammer up toward the sky before together they were sent spiraling up into the atmosphere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hold on,” Thor said in his ear, and Bruce could only nod because </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh god there was nothing solid underneath them </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>those were actual literal stars above their heads because they were shooting through actual literal space </span>
  </em>
  <span>and</span>
  <em>
    <span> what would happen if he were to let go—</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As though he’d read Bruce’s thoughts, Thor pulled Bruce in closer so that his chin was right above Bruce’s head. Whether they actually needed to be this close in order for the science-magic to work, Bruce didn’t know, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just as he was beginning to think “</span>
  <em>
    <span>hey, this is taking a lot longer than the ‘blink and we’ll be there’ that Thor was talking about,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the screaming of the wind in his ears reached its pitch and they went flying through the top of the swirling tunnel and out into a vast room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took Bruce a second to realize that he was standing on a floor, and then another couple after that to register that there was a ceiling too, and also walls. All of which were a very shiny gold color that didn’t really help the little rainbows were dancing behind his eyelids whenever he blinked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow,” he said. Thor seemed to take this as confirmation that he was still alive and loosened his grip, walking forward as casually as if he did this every day—which he practically did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, Heimdall, how are things?” Thor was addressing someone in the center of the room, and Bruce noticed for the first time the tall man in gold armor standing there, his hands wrapped around the hilt of a massive sword.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heimdall stepped down from his platform and gave a nod to Bruce before answering Thor. “The kingdom is still standing, as always.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If that’s the best you can say, then I know I’ve been away for too long.” Thor slung Mjolnir in his belt and tilted his head. “Has something happened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not in so many words. Your father will be glad you have returned.” Heimdall continued talking, and Thor continued responding, but Bruce didn’t hear any of it, as he had just noticed the open door at the other end of the room, and the scene that was visible through it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eyes wide, he walked over to the door and peered outside, where Asgard stretched out before him: a glittering rainbow bridge arcing out to a mountainous landform covered with clusters of improbably elaborate buildings, the enormous gleaming-gold towers of the palace right at the center.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce had been to a lot of places, and spending time with Tony Stark had exposed him to plenty of technological marvels, but this was something… otherworldly. He actually thought his mouth dropped open as he realized that some of the structures were </span>
  <em>
    <span>floating.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have wanted to share Asgard with you for a long time.” Thor appeared over his shoulder. “And this is why.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce shook his head slowly. “This is incredible.” He turned his gaze down to the Bifrost at their feet. “And Heimdall controls this with a sword? What is that even made of—and if Bifrost travel is anything like the tesseract, wouldn’t it have to be harnessing terajoules of cosmic force every time the bridge is opened?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“More or less,” Thor said. He looked at Bruce apologetically. “And as much as I would love for you to get all your questions answered right now, Heimdall’s right—my parents will be expecting us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just like that, Bruce’s little bubble of awe burst in his chest and the reminder that </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh yeah, I’m actually here to meet the king and queen of this entire place</span>
  </em>
  <span> came flooding in, along with the ensuing panic a heartbeat later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shoved that down and tried to focus again on the shining palace, on the shimmering rainbow bridge, on Thor’s presence solid and firm at his back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Better not keep them waiting,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The palace was even bigger on the inside, if that was possible. Bruce was probably going to get neck strain just from looking at the ceiling—or at least, the thing he thought was the ceiling but that upon further observation had turned out to be a balcony about a hundred feet or so </span>
  <em>
    <span>below </span>
  </em>
  <span>the actual ceiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The front doors were stationed with guards, but for maybe the first time in his life, Bruce barely noticed them as he and Thor walked through and into what could only have been the throne room and his eyes went wide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>huge</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That was the first description his mind supplied. It was huge, and everything was made of </span>
  <em>
    <span>gold</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> this was where Thor had </span>
  <em>
    <span>grown up.</span>
  </em>
  <span> A quick slideshow of single-bathroom houses and cramped college dorms and shacks in developing countries flicked through his head, and Bruce winced because the first time Thor had met him, he’d been wearing that old purple shirt that at the time had been the nicest thing he owned and—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor reached out and squeezed his hand briefly as they walked, whispering, “Sorry it’s in here, my father has always been one for the dramatics.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce made himself nod back. “Runs in the family, then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am choosing to take that as a compliment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their footsteps echoed on the vast floor as they finally approached the throne at the end of the hall, where a white-haired man with an eyepatch sat on the throne itself and a woman in a long dress stood slightly to the side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman quickly descended the steps as Bruce and Thor neared the end of the hall, wrapping Thor into an embrace that he immediately returned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, Mother.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome home.” Frigga took a step back and examined Thor’s face for a moment before letting out a breath. “You’ve been gone quite a while, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor shifted. “Yes, I was… busy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I imagine, what with all you’ve been up to on Midgard—don’t look so surprised, have you forgotten Heimdall can see all you do?” There was a shred of what looked like disapproval on Frigga’s face, but Bruce didn’t have time to think about that before she was turning to him and saying, “Oh, you must be Bruce Banner,” and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> smiling now but who knew what that meant and—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce glanced quickly at Thor before back to Frigga. God, was </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>in this family tall? “Yes, it’s very nice to meet you.” The phrase </span>
  <em>
    <span>you have a lovely home </span>
  </em>
  <span>flitted through his mind and he quickly got rid of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A voice echoed from the front of the room and the three of them turned around to see Odin standing from his throne and spreading his hands toward Thor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, here he is. My eldest son has finally decided to return home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Father.” Thor ignored the second sentence. “You’re looking well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As well as can be expected, what with the current situation.” Odin didn’t elaborate, but from the understanding expressions on both Thor’s and Frigga’s faces, Bruce just assumed that he was the only clueless Midgardian in the room. “But who is this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t gesture or even look at Bruce, but he didn’t need to. Bruce was starting to have some very vivid flashbacks of the last time he’d done the whole meeting-the-parents thing, but that had ultimately ended with Betty’s father hunting him down with military tanks, so hopefully this could only be an improvement. If not, he would have to accept that his life—and luck in the romance department—really did suck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told you about him,” Thor was saying, as light as could be. “This is Bruce.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The mortal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Avenger.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The mortal,” Odin repeated. It was strange how intimidating eye contact could be when the other person was wearing an eyepatch, but it was nothing Fury hadn’t gotten Bruce used to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor paused for a moment. “He can become a large green monster,” he offered, ignoring Bruce’s raised eyebrows. “I personally have seen him come out the best in many a battle.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some of the guards went “Oooh,” before Frigga cut her gaze to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm.” Odin actually did look marginally more impressed now, and scrutinized Bruce for a moment with his single eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No further comments were made about him, and Bruce let out a silent sigh of relief.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was Frigga who finally saved them after the next few minutes of what must have passed for Asgardian small talk—or maybe just </span>
  <em>
    <span>royal </span>
  </em>
  <span>Asgardian small talk—suggesting to Thor that perhaps he might like to show Doctor Banner around the palace, which Thor had jumped on immediately and guided Bruce out of the room after promising that no, they wouldn’t be late for dinner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They made it outside and to a balcony that overlooked the wide expanse of Asgardian city down below, and Bruce walked over and peered down out of habit. There was water down there—a moat? Did Asgard have moats?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, that wasn’t so bad,” he said. “I think. I didn’t mess up, right? I mean, I know they’re technically royalty and I didn’t even think about—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor leaned over and cupped his hands around Bruce’s face. “It’s fine. You were perfect.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure about that?” Bruce remembered Frigga’s disapproving look, however brief it had been, and Odin… well, he’d known he wouldn’t be impressing anyone on that front, but still.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “No, no, that wasn’t about you.” His voice had that airy quality to it that Bruce associated with the times he would insist that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>hadn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>left Mjolnir on the stairs on </span>
  <em>
    <span>purpose</span>
  </em>
  <span> or that “</span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone on Asgard dresses this way to press events, Captain, I don’t know what you have a problem with</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Apparently realizing this, he softened his tone. “Actually, it was about me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice. “Really?” He didn’t know a whole lot about Thor’s family life, but Loki’s… everything about Loki had implied that there had definitely been a favored child in that scenario.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.” Thor looked at Bruce and then quickly away at the water over the railing. “You know, Bruce… there’s another reason I wanted you to come.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“... oh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Nine Realms haven’t… been the same since I destroyed the Bifrost two years ago.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce blinked. “When you did what the when now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a long story.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway, the realms have been in disorder without Asgard there to keep the peace—and it’s been manageable so far, to an extent, but if it gets much worse, I fear that we will need to take… more direct action.” Thor gripped the edge of the railing. “What I’m saying is that I might not be able to stay on Midg—on Earth for as much time as I’d like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, </span>
  </em>
  <span>this </span>
  <em>
    <span>was a long way to go just to tell me he doesn’t want a long-distance relationship.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, I thought, if you were familiar with my home, saw what it was like here—and if I am called back, maybe… you could… accompany me sometimes?” Thor wasn’t meeting his eyes, but his whole body was angled toward Bruce as though tensed for the response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Bruce said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor continued as though he hadn’t heard him. “It wouldn’t be for long, maybe only a few weeks at a time, but—wait, what did you say?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I said yes.” Bruce shrugged. “Is that weird? It’s just… I’ve never been anywhere like here before; I mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span> at that building there, how does that even obey </span>
  <em>
    <span>physics</span>
  </em>
  <span>… and besides, I’d miss you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last words seemed to catch a little in the back of his throat, and he wasn’t sure at first that he’d really said them aloud, but then Thor’s face split into the biggest smile he’d ever seen, and he wasn’t positive that the spark that passed between them wasn’t actual lightning instead of static electricity.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, Thor.” Bruce took a step closer to the bed to make sure he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing. “Can I ask…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor appeared through the door and came up behind him, making a little noise of satisfaction as he realized what Bruce was looking at. “Oh, yeah; I asked if I could have some proper clothes in your size sent up here. Let’s see how well they did.” He started rummaging through the small pile of fabric on top of the bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The walk around the palace had been nice enough, but now that they were back in Thor’s bedroom, Bruce was starting to think that they could have gotten the same experience if they’d just stayed right here. Two entire walls were open to the air, a carved railing extending out the side as if for a balcony, and all the sights and sounds of the courtyard and city below drifted up and inside on the breeze. Back home, a design like this would’ve broken about seven safety guidelines, but here—where people had magical flying hammers—it was just a very, </span>
  <em>
    <span>very, </span>
  </em>
  <span>nice view.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Thor</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Bruce moved around the side of the bed, keeping a good distance away from the lack-thereof of walls. Not that the room wasn’t enormous—people weren’t far off when they called things “god-sized”—but he somehow didn’t think the Hulk would be very happy with him tumbling hundreds of feet off the top floor of the palace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor grinned cheekily at him and began to separate the pieces of clothing in his hands. For the most part, it looked like what the other Asgardians wore: lots of embroidered patterns and flowiness. “Not that there’s anything wrong with what you’re wearing, of course.” He cast a slow glance up and down Bruce.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce sat down on the bed and watched as Thor examined something silky and green. “I am sensing,” he remarked. “An ulterior motive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor’s eyes were wide and innocent. “I have no idea what you mean.” He tossed the garment in his hands to Bruce, who caught it and set it next to his lap. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure you don’t.” Bruce reached up and began to unbutton his shirt, aware of Thor’s gaze on him the entire time. “I better change if I’m going to have time before dinner, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d started to pull the shirt off, and Thor’s eyes were sparkling, when there came a knock at the door and Bruce instinctively froze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor rolled his eyes before sweeping off to answer the door as Bruce shrugged his shirt back on, awkwardly standing by the bed as Thor held a short conversation with whoever was in the hall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few moments later, Thor’s head peeked back in the room. “Bruce? I’m sorry about this, but I’ll be back in a couple minutes.” He hesitated before saying the next sentence. “My mother apparently wants to talk to me about Loki.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce pressed his head down and up in a nod as Thor disappeared again and he was left alone in the bedroom. It was really a mark of how intense this visit had been that he’d completely forgotten that Loki was here, too. Well, not </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span> here: in a dungeon or something. Hopefully, anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How had Thor sounded so </span>
  <em>
    <span>casual </span>
  </em>
  <span>about it, though?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then again, had that really been so casual?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce sighed and leaned down to pick up the bundle of clothes from where he’d knocked it on the floor. It was heavier than he expected, and he dropped it only for something small and round to come rolling out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell?” he muttered. He peered down off the side of the bed, and was met with the sight of a glowing sphere about the size of an egg, rolling around slowly like a top where it had fallen to the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>That’s… weird.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce reached out to pick it up. His fingers pulsed as he touched it, and he let out a little yelp as he felt some kind of odd shudder run through his body—</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>—and then he felt nothing at all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Frigga’s words still ran through Thor’s head as he climbed up the stairs to get back to his bedroom. He’d met her on the west balcony, like she’d asked, and she hadn’t lost any time in getting to her point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your brother is up to something,” Frigga had said without preamble. Thor had stopped in the doorway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki is in a cell in the dungeons.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Frigga had given him a look. “I think we both know he’s not staying there for very long.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, Thor pushed that out of his mind as he crossed over to the door of his own bedroom. Everything was still under control for the time being, and he didn’t want to panic Bruce when he already had so much else to be anxious about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Thor opened the door and walked inside with a “Back,” to announce himself, however, Bruce didn’t look like he was feeling very anxious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, exactly where Thor had left him even though it had been almost twenty minutes. His face was blank and his eyes were staring into space, his glasses hanging forgotten from his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor almost stepped on the pile of clothes that was tangled in a heap at Bruce’s feet, a far cry from the perfectly folded stacks they had been. Bruce himself was still wearing the clothes he’d arrived in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tried to inject a note of humor into his voice. “What, changed your mind already?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce’s eyes slowly slid to look at him, but there was no reaction. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Well, that’s… worrying.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor waited. “Oh. Okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a silence as Bruce slipped back into whatever vacant blankness he’d been floating in. Which in itself was distinctly odd. One of the things he loved about Bruce was that he was always </span>
  <em>
    <span>moving</span>
  </em>
  <span>, always gesturing at something or playing with his hands or darting his eyes around the room. He’d seen him meditating a few times, yes, but even that was different than this… emptiness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor didn’t like awkward silences. And he </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> felt this awkward when he was around Bruce.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to go down to dinner?” Thor finally asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure.” Barely looking at him, Bruce slid off the bed and started out the door, leaving Thor to stare after him for a moment before he followed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeah, something was definitely up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinner was an uncomfortable affair, but at least none of them attempted to make conversation. Frigga looked as if she were about to try, once, but at Thor’s pleading look she merely took another sip from her goblet. Everyone eyed each other in between the clinks of knives and forks and plates, and Thor especially felt that Odin was surveying him and Bruce with a particular eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce himself didn’t seem to notice. He picked at his plate, never blinking once in the entire time it took for them all to finish, and then pushed in his chair and followed Thor back up to his bedroom when they were done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor let him enter the room ahead of him before stepping inside and closing the door carefully. Bruce had resumed his previous spot on the bed, and Thor joined him, leaving a few inches of space between their legs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Thor asked at last, after it had become obvious that Bruce was perfectly willing to sit there in silence all night. “You didn’t eat much at dinner—and you’re not acting like yourself.” He hadn’t meant to say that last part, but he couldn’t help it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce shrugged with one shoulder. “Sorry. I guess I’m not used to Asgardian food.” He didn’t respond to either of Thor’s other comments, which only served to heighten Thor’s concern.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could try to find you something else if you’re hungry,” he offered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No thanks,” Bruce said almost instantly. “Let’s just… let’s just go to bed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor frowned. Normally, he would be excited by this prospect, but now every word out of Bruce’s mouth—as well as every second he continued to look off into the distance with that blank stare—were only convincing him more that something here was very, very, wrong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The problem was, Thor wasn’t sure quite what to do about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he supposed that, maybe, there was a slim chance that getting some sleep might help.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor had never realized quite how large his bed was. Or maybe he’d forgotten, after all these months of sleeping in his room at the Tower; but now, no matter how much he kept trying to move toward Bruce in the dark, he just couldn’t seem to reach him. After at least forty-five minutes of trying, he’d given up and fallen asleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sometime in the middle of the night, however, Thor found himself waking up to a shifting noise from beside him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sat up, letting the blankets fall off his shoulder. “Bruce?” he whispered in the dark.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He fumbled for the light at the side of the bed and moments later, the room was bathed in a soft glow that illuminated the bed, Thor, and Bruce, who was… oh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce was curled up at the other end of the bed, as far away as he could get from Thor without falling off, and his entire body was shaking underneath the covers. As Thor watched, Bruce let out a strangled kind of gasp, and green began swelling up and over his skin, his muscles stretching and beginning to grow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor inhaled. “Shit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He kicked himself out from under the covers and slid over, making sure not to actually touch him. While he actually got along pretty well with the Hulk, once they’d gotten over their initial rocky start, he had a feeling that Odin and Frigga—and Asgard in general—might not appreciate a visit from him in the middle of the night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bruce?” he whispered for the second time. “Bruce, wake up. You’re really going to wish you had woken up if you don’t—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce’s face contorted, green spreading up the veins in his neck as they bulged against his skin, and his eyes flew open, almost glowing in the dark. Thor had been fully prepared for those eyes to be green as well—he’d seen it a million times—but as Bruce turned his panicked gaze on Thor, it was clear that his eyes were a brilliant, bright blue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor sighed and looked down at the floor as though he could see straight through to the dungeons. “Really, Loki? Out of all the plans you could’ve come up with.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He would have continued had his brother been there, but there were bigger concerns at the moment. “Bruce, I really need you to wake up. Loki has a hold on you and I don’t want anything bad to happen—you know, that you might regret—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce jerked away from him with a hiss, still transforming, and Thor reached out and pulled him in close to his chest, just like they were entering the Bifrost again. He’d hoped that the sudden contact would startle Bruce into snapping out of it, but Bruce was still fighting him as he squirmed around, his body twisting and changing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At that moment, the door burst open and Thor whipped his head around to see Frigga sweeping into the room. Before he could do much more than let his mouth fall open, she was waving her hand with a flash of emerald, and a moment later Bruce was sagging against Thor, firmly in human form.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened?” he asked, blinking furiously. Thor peered down into his eyes and felt a rush of relief when they were their normal brown. “I didn’t—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no, you didn’t.” Thor had relaxed his grip around Bruce when the spell had broken, but now he wrapped his arms tight around him again. A moment later, Bruce hesitantly reached up an arm to clutch around Thor’s shoulder. “My brother is up to his tricks again. He’s a real little bastard sometimes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He tried to destroy New York,” Bruce mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor amended himself. “A lot of the time.” He turned to Frigga. “Mother, how did you know what was going on?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Frigga was still standing by the doorway, watching the proceedings on the bed. “Really, Thor, do you think there’s any magic that goes on in this palace that I don’t know about? The surge coming from here woke me a few minutes ago.” She paused. “You know that, ordinarily, I wouldn’t have come into your chambers when you had a guest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thor felt himself blush and wished he hadn’t turned on the light. Bruce was looking up at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway.” Frigga turned the doorknob. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She left the room in a swirl of skirts, the door latching shut behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once they were alone, Bruce bent himself forward so that his head was in his hands. “I can’t believe that just happened.” Thor would’ve asked for clarification, but Bruce was already continuing. “Forty-three years on Earth without ever being mind-controlled once, and then five minutes here and </span>
  <em>
    <span>boom.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He splayed his fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If it’s any consolation,” Thor said. “I think we’ll be keeping a much closer eye on Loki now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why weren’t you keeping the closest eye on him </span>
  <em>
    <span>before?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Bruce must have seen the look on Thor’s face, because he softened and said, with his eyes on the blankets he was twisting with in his hands, “I’m sorry; I kinda screwed up first impressions, didn’t I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a long pause. A pause during which Thor thought of all the ways he could say </span>
  <em>
    <span>it wasn’t your fault</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>if anything, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry for not protecting you</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to get on the first Bifrost back but I hope you don’t because I really like spending time with you, Bruce Banner</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but ultimately decided on none of them because </span>
  <em>
    <span>wow</span>
  </em>
  <span> the way Bruce’s eyes were dark in the dim light and somehow he didn’t feel tired at all and besides, Bruce never listened to him when he said anything like that anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Thor said at last. “I guess you’ll just have to make the second impression equally memorable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took Bruce a moment. “Thor, what are you…” He stopped himself and looked up into Thor’s face. “You know—I could get behind that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was the shy little smile that did it; Thor didn’t waste any time in leaning over to kiss him, a kiss which was immediately returned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” he whispered against Bruce’s mouth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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